White Powder
by name-me
Summary: When a package is delivered to the lab an unexpected turn of events leaves they CSIs trapped. As time passes tempers fray truths out. Will they all survive?
1. Chapter 1

The warm night air hung silently in the dimly lit car park of the CSI labs, clinging to Catherines clothes as she stepped out of the car. Brushing her hair back from her face, she pulled her kit and evidence bags from the passengers seat before casually nudging the door shut with her hip. It seemed like a simple enough case and she was looking forward to going home on time for the first time in what seemed like weeks. She breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into air-conditioned foyer and made her way over to the reception desk, resting her kit on the polished desk surface.

"Hi Catherine."

"Hey." She greeted the receptionist with a smile. "You got anything for me?"

"Let me see." She rummaged under the desk and pulled out three brown envelopes placing them down when she realised none were for Catherine. She then glanced down at the large book in front of her, checking the phone messages. "No, nothing today. But I do have this for Wendy if you're heading up to the labs. Some guy dropped it off for her earlier. You don't mind do you?" She said holding out the top envelope for Catherine to take.

"No problem." She said, taking the package and tucking it under one arm before retrieving her kit and heading for the stairs. "I'll see you later." She called over her shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks Catherine." The receptionist replied before returning to her work.

* * *

She hadn't even gotten to her office when she began to suspect the night was going to be busier than she had hoped. Saras head emerged from around the door of the layout room with a look of utter defeat spread across it. "Catherine, you got a minuet?" Sara did not often ask for Catherines help with anything, their relationship often strained by personal and more often professional differences.

"Sure." She smiled. "Let me just get rid of all of this." After dumping her kit unceremoniously on her desk, she quickly logged her evidence was on her way to see Sara when Grissom, his head buried in a file of papers almost walked straight into her.

"Ah Catherine. Just the person I was looking for. Can I speak to you in my office for a minute?"

"I was just on my way to help Sara with something. Can it wait?" She asked hopefully, not really in the mood for one of Grissoms little talks.

"Um yeah sure. I'll be in my office." He said, waving his hand at her as he walked away, his focus back on the papers in his hand. Shaking her head, Catherine continued towards the layout room, only remembering the post she still held for Wendy as she passed her lab. She chuckled to herself on noticing that Hodges had Wendy cornered, probably trying to impress her with some story of how he and Grissom had together cracked a case that seemed unsolvable. Although his kiss-ass attitude could be annoying, Catherine had to admit was slightly entertaining at times.

"Am I interrupting something?" She asked, walking into the lab and raising an eyebrow in Wendys direction.

"No." She replied, shaking her head defiantly. Hodges looked a little disappointed to have his time with Wendy cut short but he nodded politely at the CSI and made his way to the door.

"I was just leaving." He cast a smile in direction of the lab tech as he left, which did not go unnoticed by either woman.

"So Hodges seems…" Catherine searched for the right word as she walked over to Wendy and lent against the workbench.

"You got something for me?" Said Wendy, abruptly changing the subject.

"Yeah. This is from reception, said some guy dropped it off for you earlier." She handed the package to Wendy who took it and examined the envelope.

"Ok thanks." She smiled.

"So are you and him…" Catherine persisted, gesturing her head in the direction of Hodges' lab.

"Bye Catherine."

"Ok." She smiled, deciding to drop the subject for now at least and leaving the lab to speak to Sara. Wendy waited until Catherine had reached the door before eagerly opening the package she had been given, completely clueless as to what it might be. She pulled a small cardboard box and carefully opened the lid. Immediately, a cloud of white powder exploded into her face with a dull bang, making her stumble backwards, coughing and retching. She reached out a hand to steady herself as she doubled over but managed only to knock several glass beakers onto the floor causing them to shatter around her as she descending into darkness. Catherine and Hodges reached the entrance to the room just in time to see her limp, unconscious body fall to the floor.

"Wendy!" Hodges ran forward to help her but was stopped by Catherine grabbing his arm and urgently pushing him away from the room.

"Don't Hodges. We can't go in there."

"So we're just supposed to leave her?" He shouted, shocked by Catherines reaction. "Wendy!" He called again, trying to push past the woman in front of him but she wouldn't give in.

"David!" She forced him back further, turning to glance at the still unconscious Wendy over her shoulder. "Call an ambulance and tell them we have a potentially dangerous contaminant on the premises."

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So what do you think? I know it's only short but I will update it for you soon.


	2. Chapter 2

The corridors were emptied, CSIs and lab technicians hustled into various rooms, the doors closed behind them. The DNA lab, Wendy still inside, was sealed off with a large plastic sheet to try and contain the spread of the unknown threat. The building was sealed, closed off to the world, nobody to leave and nobody else to enter.

Greg, who had been sleeping on the break room couch, was rudely awoken as Grissom, Catherine, Sara and Hodges were all forced into the room with him. Rough apologies and instruction to not leave until told to were given by a tall man in a decontamination suit. They all looked visibly shaken.

"What's going on?" He asked, immediately sitting up and addressing anyone who would answer him.

"We're being decontaminated. Something has been released in the DNA lab." Catherine began, sitting down slowly.

"Wendy's still in there." Hodges continued. "Unconscious."

"What?" Greg stood up.

"Whatever it was, it knocked her out cold." Catherine said, glancing over to Hodges who was looking increasingly agitated. Sara sat down opposite Catherine, eyeing her curiously. She didn't look good- pale and shaking. Probably just shock, concluded Sara.

"Is she going to be ok?" Greg asked nervously.

"I hope so." Mumbled Catherine, rubbing her forehead slouching down in the chair.

"We wont know until we get the results from the chemical analysis." Grissom told him. "Until then, there is a doctor with her keeping her stabilised." Greg nodded satisfied and sat back down on the couch. They sat in silence for a while, their minds filled with concerns for the health of their friend, not one person understanding why this had happened. The ringing of Grisssoms mobile phone cut the silence.

"Grissom."

"Griss, what's going on? We just got back from our scene and they wont let us into the lab." Nicks familiar southern accent spoke.

"We're being decontaminated." He explained, mimicking Catherines earlier words. He told Nick of the situation inside and told him that he would keep him updated before hanging up and sitting down with a sigh of defeat. The silence returned for a short time before Sara's concern got the better of her.

"Catherine," She lent across the table and placed a hand on the blonds forearm. "You alright?"

"Fine." She said, a little more abruptly than she had meant to. Grissom looked up to his friend and frowned. He could see why Sara was worried but didn't want to push the subject.

"Is it me or is it getting kind of warm in here?" Asked Greg wanting to fill the increasingly awkward silence.

"It's not just you." Sara said, standing up and walking over to the air-conditioning unit on the wall. "The AC's been shut down." She reached up and pressed the power the button but nothing happened. She shrugged and turned to Grissom. "Any ideas?" The supervisor came to his feet and began banging on the door. The man in the suit reappeared. "Did you turn off the air-conditioning?" He asked, not caring about his manors.

"Yes sir. We can't risk circulating a hazardous substance around the building or pumping it outside. I realise it's warm but there's nothing I can do I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine." He sighed. "Any news?"

"I'm afraid not but as soon as I know anything you will be the first to be informed." Then the door was closed, shutting the group inside the room again.

"Anyone for coffee?" Greg offered. "Or ice?" He joked, reaching for some mugs from the cupboard.

"Yes please Greg." Grissom said.

"And me." Said Sara, pulling her jumper up over her head and dropping it on the table in front of her.

"Not for me thank you Greg, I'm to worried to be drinking coffee." He said accusatively making Catherine roll her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Catherine?" Greg prompted.

"Hmm?"

"Coffee"

"Oh, um no thanks Greg." She gave a weak, entirely unconvincing smile.

"You sure you're alright?" Greg braved, taking a step towards her.

"Yes, I'm fine." She snapped. "Just great." She said under her breath, but not as quietly as she had meant to, as Sara did not fail to hear it. Greg made the coffee in silence and handed around the mugs, which were received with grateful but silent smiles. Sara fanned her face with her hands and leaned back in her chair.

"It's so warm in here." She groaned.

"We know." Came Catherines snide reply. Sara was about to retaliate but Hodges spoke first, pacing the room like a caged animal.

"What if it's not the room? What if we're all sick?"

"Hodges." Grissom warned him.

"I mean that stuff could have been anything." He continued.

"Hodges."

"Anthrax, small pox…"

"Hodges shut up!" Shouted Catherine, sitting up in her chair and glaring at him. "Just shut up and stop pacing around!" He stopped walking and stared back at her.

"Well I'm sorry if I'm worried about my friend."

"No David, you're not worried about her you're worried about you."

"Catherine!" It was her who Grissom need to be kept quiet now. An argument was not going to help anything.

"What?" She snapped turning her head abruptly in his direction.

"Just take it easy. None of us want to be here…"

"Dam right we don't!"

"But there is nothing we can do about it right?"

"Well there must be something! We're just sitting here, drinking coffee…"

"Well what do you suggest?" Sara cut in the harshness of her tone matching that of her superiors.

"I don't know! I'm sure any idea I may have will wrong by Grissom anyway, at least if you don't agree…"

"What is your problem?" Sara yelled, standing up now.

"My problem," Catherine shouted back, standing up as well and hitting her fists on the table. "Is that we are stuck in here, roasting like a bunch of Christmas turkeys, on the first day in weeks that I thought I might be able to go home and spend some time with my daughter, Wendy is laying out there unconscious and you are saying there is nothing we can do and to top it all off, my head feels like it's about to explode and there is probably nothing we can do about that either!"

"How long?" Grissom asked calmly.

"What?" She snapped, pulling her angry gaze away from the slim brunet to focus on the man sitting next to her.

"How long has your head been hurting?"

"What, you want it in like minuets?"

"Before or after the package was opened?" He clarified.

"After." She said, her voice calmer now as she sat back down at the table, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead again. Nervous glances were exchanged between everyone in the room but nobody said what they were thinking out loud. Sara slowly ran her hand through her hair and made her way over to the sink, her back to everyone in the room. She gripped the edge of the worktop and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She felt a hand on her back and Greg spoke quietly into her ear.

"You ok?"

"Fine." She said through gritted teeth.

"You sure?" She turned to face him, their bodies' only inches apart.

"I'm just… hot and I'm worried about Wendy you know, and Catherine…" He nodded sympathetically and returned to his seat on the couch. Sara sighed and filled a glass with water, grabbed and packet of painkillers and placed them on the table in front of Catherine.

"Here." She said, hoping the peace gesture would work, but not staying to see if it would. Instead she made her way over to the window and peered down into the car park below. There were already reporters gathering outside along with numerous emergency vehicles. She could see Warrick and Nick leaning against the hood of their car talking to Brass. "Maybe we could open a window." She said quietly, resting her head against the cool glass.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Grissom told her, not taking his eyes away from Catherine who had taken the painkillers but was looking no better for it. Slowly Catherine put both arms on the table and rested her head on them, her face turned away from Grissom. He found himself placing his hand on her back and gently moving his fingers in slow circles along it. A pang of jealousy rushed over Sara when she saw this gesture but she forced it instantly from her mind, realising Catherine was clearly suffering and needed him right now.

"Catherine, you want to take the couch for a while?" Greg offered but she didn't answer.

"Catherine." Grissom leaned closer to her as he spoke and she lifted her head, turning to face him. "Why don't you lay down for a while?" Again she didn't answer but neither did she resist as he drew her to her feet and lead her to the seat Greg had just vacated.

"Still feeling rough huh?" He asked. She nodded weakly.

"I'm a little nauseous." She confessed bringing another exchange of nervous looks between the men at either side of her. "This is all my fault." She groaned dropping her head into her hands. "I brought up the package from reception. If I hadn't given it to Wendy…"

"Then someone else would have." Grissom reasoned. "This isn't your fault."

"But what if she's not ok?" Catherine looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears. "What if we don't get home, what if Lindsey is left…"

"She won't be," He cut her off again. "You're going to be fine."

"I don't feel fine." She said, letting her head drop forward again.

"I know." He said, his hand returning to her back. "Do you still feel like you want to be sick?" She nodded slightly. "Ok," He said, pulling her cardigan off in an attempt to cool her down. "Just lay down here and relax. That might help." Slowly, she lowered her body on the couch, swinging up her legs and closing her eyes, hoping to shut out the pain. As she was settling down, Greg holding her hand in his, Grissoms phone rang for a second time. He quickly answered it.

"Grissom."

"Gill." Said Brass on the other end of the line. "I think we've got something but you're never going to believe it."

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Thanks for the reviews so far. Please keep giving me your feedback! x


	3. Chapter 3

Grissom hung up the phone, a look of confusion on his face. "What did he say?" Asked Hodges snapping Grissom out of his silent state of bewilderment.

"Turns out we're not the only target." He began slowly. "Two other labs have been hit too."

"Do they know why?"

"No." He said sadly, looking at Catherines sleeping form.

"And they still don't know what that stuff is right?" Asked Greg.

"Not yet." He confirmed reaching out to touch Catherines burning forehead. She was still very pale and her cheeks were flushed, but then again so were everyone else's. The room was almost unbearably warm now, the group having been stuck in there for over three hours.

"You think she needs a doctor?" Greg asked, concern written plainly on his face and evident in his hushed voice.

"I don't know Greg. I'm not sure what they can do until we know what we're dealing with." He was interrupted by a loud crash as Hodges kicked the door in frustration. "David, you ok?"

"I just wish there was more we could do. First Wendy, now Catherine. I might not mean anything to Wendy but she means a lot to me. I can't loose her." Grissom risked a glance in Saras direction. He knew the feeling exactly.

"All we can do is wait." He said simply looking back at Catherine. Hodges nodded, knowing Grissom was right, and fell back into a chair by the door with a sigh. The room was silent for while, Grissom perched on the couch by Catherine, Greg kneeling on the floor. Sara was still stood by the widow, lost in thought. "_This is all my fault."_ She knew that feeling all to well. She had spent many an hour in times of less than rational thought, believing her fathers' death was her fault. Thinking that if she had spoken up sooner, told someone about the abuse, that her mother would never have been pushed to kill him. So lost in thought, she didn't even notice anyone moving until Greg was behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder.

"You ok?" She nodded silently. "You're shaking." He said, trying to lead her over to a chair but she stood her ground. Her breathing was quicker and deeper than it should be and there was a strange emptiness in her eyes.

"How long have we been in here Greg?" Her voice was strained and hushed as though she didn't mean to speak out loud.

"I'm not sure."

"She mustn't blame herself." She said more quickly this time, turning back to gaze out of the window. "I've done that too many times and it doesn't feel good." Greg wasn't sure what to say to this strange remark.

"Come on sit down, you look tired." He ran his hand down her bare arm and pulled gently on her elbow but she still didn't move.

"When she wakes up we need to tell her this isn't her fault."

"Ok." He said softly, searching her eyes for some clue as to what she was thinking of to make her talk like this. Slowly, she brought her hand up and placed it on the window.

"I just want to get out of here." She said almost a whisper. Greg stepped closer to her, squeezing both her shoulders. Keeping his contact with her, he turned to look at Grissom, hoping for some help with bringing Sara out of her strange trance like state, but he was still focused on Catherine. "I don't want to be stuck in here. I don't like being trapped Greg." Her voice was trembling now as she turned around to face her anxious, her expression blank. Her gaze fell over his shoulder to where Catherine lay with Grissoms hand placed tenderly on her waist. "She doesn't look too good does she?"

"Come on." He pulled her away from the window and lowered her in to a chair. "I'm going to speak to Grissom ok? David, can you…" He nodded in Saras direction, not wanting her to be sat there alone. Walking over to Grissom, he didn't take his eyes off Sara until he was at the other mans side. "Grissom?"

"Yes Greg."

"How's she doing?"

"Just the same." He looked up at Greg now. "How's Sara doing?" He hadn't missed the look in her eyes, the tone of her voice, Greg just hadn't seen him watching them.

"Not so good."

"I should talk to her." He said, standing up slowly so as not to disturb Catherine.

"Sara, you ok?" He knelt at her side, placing his hand on her wrist.

"I just want to get out of here Grissom. It's just too much like…" His phone began to ring, stopping her mid-sentence but he made no move to answer it. "Don't you want to answer that?" She sighed. Drawing himself to his feet he pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped it open.

"Grissom."

"Hey Griss. How you guys holding up?" Warrick asked.

"We've been better."

"Well I don't know if this will help, but Nick and I have just finished looking at the surveillance tapes from reception. We've got a good image of the guy dropping off the package. Brass is taking it down to PD now."

"Ok thanks Warrick."

"You guys hang on it there ok." Grissom just hung up, knowing that they should be told what was going on but not having the heart to tell Warrick that his friend seemed to be in a bad way.

"They've uh, got a photo of the guy." He said to nobody in particular.

"Well that's good. Any news on the chemical analysis?" Hodges asked.

"No."

"Well we've got to know soon. I mean it's been hours!"

"Yes it has." He sighed, pulling a chair out from under the table and sitting down next to Sara. She looked close to tears and he didn't know what to do to stop them. So he did nothing and silence descended on the room once again.

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Huge thanks for all your feedback yet again. Really appreciate you taking the time out to review my work.

Sorry this is another fairly short chapter but I will update soon for you. The next chapter is underway. x


	4. Chapter 4

It was light outside now, the sun streaming through the window serving only to make the room more uncomfortable. Hodges had resumed his pacing and it was beginning to grate on both Greg and Grissom although neither man wanted to be the one to mention it. Each of these two men were other wise occupied anyway, focusing on Catherine and Sara, neither of whom had made any signs of improvement. Catherine was still sleeping, her face pale and lined with beads of sweat. She hadn't moved or made a sound since her head had hit the couch. Similarly Sara hadn't spoken in a long while. She sat nervously running her hand along the edge of the table, staring blankly out the window. There was knock at the door, which was immediately answered by Hodges.

"We have some good news. The chemical analysis has come back and the substance is benign." There was a simultaneous release of breath as the occupants of the room relaxed. "Essentially and anaesthetic agent. Looks like they just wanted to give you guys a bit of a scare."

"And Wendy?" Hodges prompted.

"She hasn't woken up yet but she is stable and I'm assured she will be fine." The lab tech gave a vigorous, thankful nod, a wide smile crossing his lips.

"Are we free to leave now?" Asked Greg hopefully, more for Saras sake than for his own.

"As soon as we have officially cleared the building yes. It should take no more than half an hour or so."

"Ok thanks." Grissom said as the man left the room again. "I should call Nick and Warrick, let then know what's happening." Watching Sara closely, he left her to call the rest of the team from the far side of the room.

"You hear that Sara? We can go home soon." Greg said from his position beside Catherine. "Sara?" He said again when she made no indication that she had heard him. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sara?" She flinched as he touched her, and spun her head round, her wide, shocked eyes at last meeting his. She let out a slow shaking breath she hadn't even realised she had been holding in. "Greg?"

"It's ok. We can go home soon." He told her again, pleased when it seemed to register this time, one corner of her mouth turning up into a half smile. "And Wendy and Catherine, they're going to be fine." She nodded but still didn't speak. "Ok?" She nodded again only with less certainty this time. Seeing that he was getting nowhere with her, Greg returned to Catherine, gently shaking her arm to try and wake her. "Hey Cath. Time to wake up." She let out a quiet groan and squeezed her eyes more tightly closed. "Come on Catherine, wake up for me."

"Mmm, go away." She mumbled. Greg couldn't help but smile.

"Having some trouble there Greg?" Grissom observed.

"Not at all. Sleepy head here just doesn't feel like cooperating right now, hey Catherine?" He nudged her again evoking a second less than happy response.

"I'm serious Greg, get lost."

"Never did have much of a way with women did you Sanders?" Hodges mocked. "Want the master to step in?"

"I don't think that's necessary, thank you Hodges." Grissom said turning back to Greg. "Let her sleep it off a while longer." He suggested. Greg agreeing with him was about to say so but was stopped when he noticed the look on Grissoms face as his eyes fell on Sara. His face wore and expression of hopelessness, concern emanating from his eyes. He stood up next to the man so he could lower his voice as much as possible, not wanting Sara to hear him, not he thought she would be listening. She looked lost in her own thoughts again, like she had shut out the world. "I tried to talk to her but I can't get through. She's really upset about something Griss and I can't help her."

"What makes you think I can?" He asked sadly. Greg shrugged. There was no real reason why he thought Grissom could help, he just knew that he and Sara had a connection which ran much deeper than his own relationship with her and that something had to be done. Someone had to reach out to her, why not him?

"Just try Griss, please. She needs someone right now." Grissom nodded. Only once had Sara ever really reached out to him in all the years he had known her. She had told him about her father but given little detail about what had happened or how it made her feel, maybe because he hadn't given her the chance. He had made a complete mess of their relationship. He cared about her more than anyone else he knew but could never tell her and for that, he hated himself more than anyone else he knew. She had cared about him too he knew that, but he wasn't sure if that was true anymore even though her hoped with all his heart that it was.

"Sara," He said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder and sitting down opposite her. "Are you ok?" She looked up at him, her eyes glazed over with tears, the concern in his voice breaking her inside.

"I hate this Grissom." She whispered. "I can't stand being shut in here. I want to… I need to get out."

"We will soon."

"She would do this you know. Shut me away to hide me from what was going on. It didn't work. I always knew. I always knew what he was doing to her and that then he would come to me."

"Sara…"

"He never went as far with me as he did with her, I mean he never…" He winced, knowing what she was about to say and squeezed her hands tightly in his. He had suspected that sexual abuse may have been part of her past and knew he should be relieved that at least Sara herself was never subject to it, but somehow it didn't make him feel any better. She turned her head to face away from him, sniffing back the tears that were coming ever closer to falling. This is when she caught sight of Greg and remembered that she and Grissom were not alone this time. She froze, her words catching in her throat. She whipped her head round to face Grissom again, panic now filling her dark eyes. "I, I can't do this Grissom. I need to go." She stood up and forced herself past him, pulling her hands from his. She reached the door but Hodges stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.

"Sara you can't leave yet."

"Please." She begged, reaching out for the door handle.

"Sara they need to clear the building before…

"Please Hodges, please," She turned back around to face Grissom, the first tear rolling down her cheek. "I need to leave. I need to…leave." At the sight of her tears, her obvious anguish, Grissom stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. She let him hold her, clinging tightly to the front of his shirt. He whispered to her words of comfort, told her that it was going to be ok, as Greg and Hodges looked on, shocked by this display of emotion from both of their colleagues as much as by Saras state of distress.

On hearing Saras muffled sobs in the silence, Catherine began to stir, her mothers ear tuned to such sounds. She pushed herself up on the couch, wincing as the pain in her head returned with vengeance.

"What's going on? Greg, is Wendy ok?" Fear was rising in her voice.

"What? Oh no, Wendy's fine." Greg said, tearing his eyes away from the two figures still clinging to one and other in the middle of the room. "Sara's just a little upset. But err, what about you? How you feeling?" He changed the subject, knowing Sara wouldn't want any more people to know what had just happened, what she had just said, even if he didn't fully understand himself.

"Like someone hit me over the head with a sledge hammer." Catherine groaned leaning forward so her elbows were resting on her knees, her hands running around the back of her neck. She could feel Gregs hand on her back and began to relax a little.

Sara, who had calmed a little now too, pulled herself away from Grissom and mumbled an apology, embarrassed for breaking down in front of him again.

"It's ok Sara." He said, slowly running his hands down her arms and taking hold of her hands.

"No it's not. I shouldn't let all of that get to me like this anymore."

"Um guys," Catherines voice rang out, interrupting their conversation. "Any chance we can leave yet? I really need to get to a bathroom."

"Not yet Cath sorry." Greg replied.

"Then anyone got a bucket because I'm fairly sure I'm going to hurl." Hodges was the first to act, diving towards Catherine, bin in hand. The colour had completely drained from her face and Greg could feel her body trembling. He pulled her hair away from when it was clinging to her damp neck and forehead, rubbing his free hand up and down her back. Her body became tense as she willed the nausea to pass. There was a knock at the door, which was then instantly opened by a man on the other side.

"Good news guys. You're free to leave." Sara was torn between her overwhelming desire to bolt from the room and her concern for Catherine, part of her wanting to stay and make sure she was ok. But she couldn't remain there any longer. She felt her legs starting to give way beneath her and she managed a quiet "I'm sorry" before she ran from the room. The man watched her leave but on turning back and seeing Catherine he took a step into the room, his concern now not for the brunet but rather the blond. She was hunched over on the couch, her attempts to suppress the rising vomit finally failing.

"Is she ok? Do you want me to get the doctor?"

"Grissom I think we should." Said Greg, his words overlaid by the woman next to him retching for a second and then quickly a third time. The man nodded and left to bring the doctor to the CSIs aid. "It's ok Catherine, just relax. You're going to be fine." Greg said, but the expression on his face was much less certain.

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Hope you like how the story is developing. Please let me know :)


	5. Chapter 5

Sara had only made it half way down the stairs before she had to stop running. She felt weak, like she had no control over where her legs were carrying her. A thousands thoughts were clouding her mind, making her feel disorientated. Clutching the banister she slid onto a step and curled herself up to the wall. She tried to calm herself, knowing that nobody was going to hurt her. She wasn't a child anymore; her father was not about to punish her for something she hadn't done. That was in the past. Then why did it suddenly feel so real? A sob caught in her throat, the world becoming misty through her tears. Feeling her own body trembling, she tried to concentrate on her breathing. As she began to calm herself, her thoughts becoming less chaotic, her mind flicked back to Catherine.

* * *

When the doctor arrived in the break room, he informed the anxious occupants that Wendy had started to wake up and that she was going to the hospital, just as a precaution. Hodges, although concerned for Catherine, insisted he go with Wendy, not wanting her to be alone. This only left Greg and Grissom to stand by and watch as the doctor checked over their friend. Her temperature, unsurprisingly was very high, and was the likely reason for her current state. Well that combined with the inhalation of a relatively small amount of the anaesthetic, which it seemed she had reacted badly to, making her head pound and her temperature rise further still, both contributing to the nausea. "We can give you an antipyretic to lower your temperature and some pain killers to try and take away the headache, that might help. I'm afraid there's not much else we can do though. You'll just have to rest. Your symptoms shouldn't last must longer." She nodded weakly.

"I hope not." She groaned. "I don't remember the last time I felt this ill."

"If you're symptoms persist, I would recommend you call a doctor but there's no need to go to the hospital." The doctor left the room to a thank you from each person.

"Ok Cath lets get you home."

"No Grissom you don't have to do that, I can just call Lindsey to come pick me up." She said, trying to sound forceful but failing miserably.

"Lindsey is already here." He said taking her by the elbow and pulling her to her feet, not giving her chance to protest again.

"What?"

"She saw the lab on the news." He saw the look of horror and her face. "Don't worry, Warrick's with her."

"Ok." She breathed a sigh of relief, resting her head on Grissoms shoulder. He held her for a moment before she pulled away, the pallor of her cheeks returning.

"Bathroom?" Guessed Greg as she put a hand up to her mouth. She nodded as Greg took her arm and led her away.

* * *

When Catherine finally made it outside, Grissom and Greg supporting her on either side, she was greeted by Lindsey, wrapping her arms around her mothers shoulders. "Mom."

"Hey sweetie." Her voice was cracking, tears threatening to fall with the emotion of seeing the daughter she had only hours ago doubted she would see again.

"Hey guys." Warrick joined them. "How's everyone doing?"

"Better now we're out here." Greg said honestly. Catherine pulled herself away from her daughter and smiled at her friend.

"Cath you alright? You look…"

"Awful." She offered.

"Well yeah. What happened to you girl?" He said, his hand running down the still burning skin of her arm.

"Adverse reaction to breathing in what ever that stuff was." She saw Lindsey's eyes fill with worry. "Don't worry I'm ok. I just feel a little… rough that's all. I just need to go home."

"Ok, come on." Warrick placed his hand on her back and urged her forward towards his car.

"Warrick…"

"No arguing Cath."

"Yeah mom come on you look like hell." Lindsey took her and pulled her forwards too.

"Fine." She said, not having the energy to try and make a case against this. "But don't blame me if I puke in your car." She warned him, feeling like it was almost inevitable that she would be sick again some time soon. But Warrick simply wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him as he led her away and past Nick who looked at her curiously. "Don't say it Nicky, I already know." Predicting that he, like everyone one else was about to tell her how horrible she looked.

"Ok I wont." He smiled at her. "You get some rest now."

"Yeah thanks Nick." She said as he smiled again before walking towards Grissom to update him with news from Brass.

"So they got the guy. Caught him off the highway trying to skip town."

"Good." Said Grissom, his own energy beginning to wane.

"And Brass tells me they have an ID on the hit in California but they're still looking at footage from the labs in Washington."

"Ok thanks Nick."

"Ecklie wants days to take the case. Says we have too much 'personal interest' to remain impartial." He could tell that Grissom wasn't really listening anymore so cut his explanation short.

"Nick, have you seen Sara?" Grissom asked.

"No, I thought she would have come out with you guys." He said, looking a little confused.

"She left just before us." Greg cut in, not wanting the older man to say anything that would worry Nick or revel more to him than he knew Sara would want. "Maybe she already headed home." He speculated.

"Maybe." Grissom said unsurely. "I better go and find her. Check that she's ok." He said walking away from the two men. "Oh and Greg." He called over his shoulder. "You did well in there tonight. Now get some rest and take the night off. I'll see you tomorrow night."

* * *

Her eyes flickered open to the harsh glare of a hospital light. As she began to push herself up in the bed she felt a hand rest on hers. "Hi."

"Hodges? What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you what does it look like? Archie and Nick are outside too. I think I've got competition."

"Trust me David, you're in a league of your own." She smiled and rested her head back on the pillow, closing her eyes and suppressing a groan as her head filled with a dull pain. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've just woken up after a very heavy night on the booze. Don't they have like, morphine in hospitals for this kind of thing?"

"I'll see what I can do." He said, squeezing her hand.

"Thanks." He stood up to leave but only made it as far as the door before turning back to her.

"Wendy."

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're ok." She smiled again. David Hodges may be frustrating at times but he really was a nice guy.

* * *

He found Sara sitting in her car the air conditioning unit on full blast making her shiver slightly. She had left the building through the back door, not feeling up to facing the barrage of questions she knew would come if anyone saw her. In the chaos of the car park, nobody had noticed her slip quietly into her car where she had been sat for the best part of half an hour, not trusting her shaking hands to drive her home. A tentative knock on the window beside her made her jump but she immediately calmed as she saw it was Grissom. He smiled and walked around to the passenger side, not waiting to be invited in. "How are you feeling?" He asked when she said nothing.

"Tired." She said, not turning to look at him. "Is Catherine ok?"

"She's fine." He reached out a hand to take hold of hers, which were folded in her lap. "Your hands are cold."

"Are they? I hadn't noticed." She said quietly, turning to face him at last. "I'm sorry Grissom, for acting the way I did earlier. I guess that a lot of memories and feelings have just been brought to the surface lately and that maybe I haven't learned how to handle them yet."

"Do you want to talk about them?" She swallowed hard and dropper her gaze but didn't answer. "You know Sara, it's ok to be afraid. I know I haven't always been here for you when you've needed me but I'm here now." She nodded, showing that she had understood. "Why don't I take you home? We could both do with something to eat and a shower."

"Ok." She had to admit going home to an empty house didn't seem too appealing right now.

"Let me drive." He said, climbing out of the car and around to the drivers' side before she had chance to argue.

"I'm sorry about this Grissom." She said as he started to pull out of the car park.

"About what?" He asked, not taking his eyes of the road.

"Being such a total mess. I hoped you'd never have to see how screwed up I am. Not much chance of that now though huh?"

"You're not screwed up Sara; you're human." He cast a quick glance in her direction, seeing her lips curve into a small smile at this. "Besides," He said, turning back to the road. "I wouldn't want you any other way."

* * *

THE END

Hoped you liked it. Think I tied up all the loose ends...

Let me know what you think anyway.

A huge thank you again for taking the time to read and review the story. x


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